President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Monday vetoed ₱92.5 billion in unprogrammed appropriations in the 2026 budget, but an opposition lawmaker said he and his colleagues would take the matter to the Supreme Court (SC). House Senior Deputy Minority Leader and Caloocan Rep. Edgar Erice said they were awaiting a copy of the President’s veto message...
Author: Nestor Corrales
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No big fish? Confidence eroding in government inquiry into corruption scandal
With no apparent result in the Palace’s promise to jail ranking officials “before Christmas,” one more lawmaker has expressed loss of confidence in the government’s sincerity in unraveling the corruption scandal involving the multibillion-peso plunder of taxpayer money. “I no longer believe that the government is sincere in uncovering the truth behind the flood control...
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ICI member quits as Marcos fails to jail ‘big players’ in flood scandal
Seasoned accountant Rossana Fajardo resigned from the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) on Friday, leaving Chairman Andres Reyes as the sole official steering the body just over three months after its creation. Lawmakers say the departure of key figures from the ICI highlights the body’s failure to effectively investigate multibillion-peso flood control projects. In a...
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What the Bondi Beach shooters did during their stay in Davao City
Sajid Akram, who with his son Naveed killed 15 persons in an attack at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Dec. 14, was seen jogging with Naveed each morning and visited a gun shop during their nearly monthlong stay in Davao City. Police Maj. Catherine dela Rey, spokesperson of the Police Regional Office (PRO) 11, told CoverStory...
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Año says no evidence of Bondi shooters’ terror training in Mindanao
There is no confirmation that the father-and-son gunmen who killed 15 people in Sydney’s Bondi Beach received “military-style training” in southern Philippines before the Dec. 14 attack, National Security Adviser Eduardo Año said on Wednesday. “No evidence supports such a claim at present,” Año, a former chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP),...
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‘Intense, stressful ICI work’ and family security concerns force Singson to resign
Rogelio “Babes” Singson has resigned as commissioner of the Independent Commission for Infrastructure (ICI) barely three months after his appointment, making him the second high-profile official to leave the panel amid mounting concerns about its mandate and power to look into the corruption scandal centered on the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH). ICI...
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Cooperatives sector seeks ‘real, not selective’ accountability and jail time for corrupt parties
Every guilty party in the corruption scandal, including politicians, other government officials, and contractors, must be prosecuted and jailed, according to the millions-strong National Union of Cooperatives (NUC). The NUC made the call for urgent reforms and accountability as public outrage continues to grow over anomalies in the government’s multibillion-peso flood control and other infrastructure...
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‘Not an easy choice’: Magalong resigns from ICI
Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong quit his post as a special adviser of the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) on Friday, the same day Malacañang said his appointment is under review due to possible conflict of interest. His resignation was “not an easy choice, but one I believe is necessary,” Magalong said in a statement...
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Romualdez quits the speakership in yet another offshoot of the flood control corruption scandal
After weeks of speculation, the House of Representatives has switched leadership from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s first cousin to an ally who belongs to a political dynasty in Isabela. Leyte (1st district) Rep. Martin Romualdez resigned the speakership on Wednesday amid accusations of corruption involving flood control projects and of “insertions” in the 2025 budget....
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Marcos names ex-SC justice Andres Reyes as flood control probe chair, vows no one will be spared
Not even his cousin Speaker Martin Romualdez or his political allies will be spared in the inquiry of the Independent Commission on Infrastructure (ICI) into corruption in multibillion-peso flood control projects, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Monday as he appointed former Supreme Court associate justice Andres Reyes as its chair. With Reyes’ appointment, the...